In modern society, beauty has become one of the big trends. A variety of studies are being conducted to treat men and women who are suffering psychologically from inherited alopecia or environmental alopecia and to promote the growth of hair.
The hairs of a human being are formed of 10˜15 stands of hairs, each strand growing and degenerating. The hair grows and degenerates as it repeats three stages, consisting of an anagen during which hairs grow, a catagen during which metabolism becomes slow maintaining the shapes of hairs after the catagen, and a telogen during which a papilla shrinks and follicles gradually shrink, so the follicles become smaller as they are forced to move upward. The period and lifespan of the hair might change depending on a nutritional state, a disease history, heredity, constitution, hormone secretion or aging. In terms of a patient who suffers from alopecia, a hair in anagen moves to catagen and telogen, so a lot of hairs pull out as the anagen stage becomes abnormally slower. It can be observed that hairs are lost as the follicles become smaller.
The biggest causes in term of alopecia lie in an inherited cause (male hormone), and environment causes (pollution, styling agent for hairs). First of all, it is known that alopecia can be inherited, and its development depends on a male hormone. The male hormone related to alopecia is a DHT, which is an active male hormone generally activated by a 5-alpha-reduction enzyme. In addition to this cause, stress, disease, baby delivery, change of eating style, irregular life, blood circulation disorder, contagious inflammation and peroxide are related to alopecia; however, a definitive cause of alopecia is not known. As the industrialization and information era advance, the population of patients suffering from alopecia has increased, and among recent alopecia patients, there has been an increase in patients of lower age and in women patients.
According to the British Journal of Dermatology (2004; 150: 186-194), use of Minoxidil, approved by the USFDA, among a lot of other current commercial alopecia prevention agents, is known to result in blood vessel expansion prevention as exclusive potassium channel opener, to help develop from telogen to anagen, and to maintain the induced anagen hair period.
The oral medicine called Finasteride, Propecia; MSD, which inhibits the generation of dihydrotestosterone, a male hormone, by preventing the operation of 5-alpha-reduction enzyme, was approved from the USFDA, and is sold in the USA; however, the price is high, and side effects are reported, so its use is limited. In the industry, there is an urgent and strong demand for the development of medicine having hair growth effects and no side-effects as compared with the previously developed two medicines.
Alopecia prevention agents and hair growth solutions are being intensively studied, so a variety of products have come out; however, an alopecia prevention agent having excellent functionality has not been developed yet. Among developed products, there are minoxidil and propecia, which are, alopecia prevention agents that are widely used in the western countries, and a hair growth solution with an oriental herb extract that is widely used in Japan; however, their effects are not enough to prevent alopecia and promote hair growth.
Because hair gel, mousse, spray and hair tonic are all chemical products that are used to help style hair, their long-term use might irritate a user's skin, while causing alopecia.